By the youth, for the youth

Marketing communicators have consistently described the youth market (anywhere from tweens to teens to young adults) as a mysterious and, in most instances, a frustratingly difficult public to capture. To capture their attention and eventual support, a youth-focused effort, different from the approaches directed at older audience segments, must be carefully strategized and executed. Over 25 years of interacting with university students as a marketing-communications educator tells me that young people usually respond to imaginative, visual-driven campaigns that carry familiar and attractive techniques that connect to both their right and left brains.

National statistics on Philippine demographics reveal that the Philippines is largely populated by the youth market. This rationalizes why marketers are developing products that appeal to the young and why political candidates try every opportunity to connect with this group by addressing issues with a precise impact on their unique mindsets.

With a highly segmented nature, marketers are reminded of the fact that young people do not form a homogenous cluster. Thus, you cannot depend on a single, all-encompassing approach if a communication campaign aims to link up with all youth groups. You must tailor-fit your messages and implementations to each and every specific set under the expansive youth umbrella, which are keen on maintaining their individual group’s social, cultural, or even political identities. The specific lines that divide, and the core characteristics that distinguish one from the other, must be used as germane references for any plan of development.

Young people positively respond to messages that are clear and honest. They are critical of projections that are seen as irrelevant or poorly conducted. A logical flow can go a long way to making a case. Clarity can make your communications stand out from the clutter, while obscurity can lead you to doom. Be aware that your young audiences will filter out information they find usual and unimpressive, and will pick up those that are more out-of-the box, articulated with lucidity, and supported by a compelling and convincing execution.

Tactful and simple sincerity can be very refreshing in today’s world of bluffing and hype. You must speak to them as you would a friend – with careful forthrightness, circumspection, candor and respect. Engaging the youth in a respectful dialogue requires talking their talk and walking their walk, in a language that is familiar and accessible. A condescending or preachy tone, rather than an empathetic and friendly one, will undoubtedly fall short of achieving the desired impact.

Being ‘Askable’

In doing advocacy work for the youth sector, for example, one of the most important characteristics of good communication is to be "askable." It means that young people who see your communication platforms as open get challenged or questioned. As the Advocates for Youth wrote, "Being ‘askable’ is a vital goal. Research shows that young people with the least information on important issues often end up with wrong decisions compared to their peers with ample information." Being "askable" is critical and since adults have difficulty initiating discussions, you may need to learn new skills and be more confident about your ability to discuss things that affect them.

Students represent a significant and lucrative share of the youth market. Thus, if you want to hit it big, any campaign – above or below the line – must successfully penetrate that market. Although a notoriously skeptical bunch, a well-crafted and cleverly packaged program can capture their imaginations and earn their support. Credibility and uniqueness can provide added value, as manifested in strategies, tactics and executions that have the elements of surprise and disruption, pushing boundaries with greater boldness than those intended for mainstream audiences.

The Internet, blogging, e-mail and texting are the fastest-growing media of communication among the youth. Ubiquitous cell phones, with their fast technological updates, continue to bring succinct visual and text messages to large numbers of people in a language to which they will respond with mutual immediacy and enthusiasm. Persistent and poorly expressed communication, however, can irritate and frustrate recipients, usually prompting them to delete without absorbing the message. Chain text and e-mail messages, for example – especially the kind that warns people of bad omens if they are not going to participate in the "please pass" bustle – are responsible for this.

Television remains a primary medium of communication to reach out to the youth. Increasingly, TV networks are creating programs slanted specifically at them, and many are strongly convinced that programming time must be dedicated to raising awareness of issues that are relevant to this dynamic, fickle and fast-evolving sector, as they continue to enjoy the entertaining fare they demand.

Radio stations continue to provide music, news and features for young people in friendly and convenient format, while magazines pursue a deluge of human-interest materials ranging from New Age to sex and other specific-interest titles that titillate young readers. Below-the-line activities like special events and in-store relationship-building promotions cover some of the non-traditional applications of youth-based talking and connecting.

Student Ad Congress

Unique. Virginal. Edgy. Bonded. These are just some of the descriptors an advertising material must possess to effectively communicate. "But great ideas sometimes come with a great price – as any adman or woman who’s burned the midnight oil for days on end would know. Sometimes to the point of burning out," Adobo reports.

Given the absolute importance of the youth market, the development of new blood, new thinkers and new "executioners" have become even more critical in the practice of marketing communication. Where would these creative and marketing reserves come from? From colleges and universities offering advertising, public relations, brand management and related fields, of course. And that’s what pushed a dedicated and concerned team of advertising stalwarts to come up with the pioneering 1st Student Advertising Congress, nicknamed "AdCong."

Scheduled for November 22-23 at the CCP Aliw Theater, the momentum behind the student AdCong comes from the fact that the Philippine youth, of which 2.7 million belong to marketing-communication-related courses, have not yet been tapped in a more direct manner. "Only sprinklings have been given to students before in the past Philippine Ad Congresses," says Dan Villa, 1st Student Advertising Congress chairman. "There have been efforts to involve students but they only have token or minimal participation in the biennial ad gathering, and from the 4As and PANA ARAL programs," he adds.

The goal of the AdCong is to mold students of mass communication, business and arts courses into quality graduates who will eventually turn into highly qualified and competitive professionals. Themes and topics are designed to be highly relevant to the students and will be delivered by industry leaders. To spice up the event, a creative-advertising competition using youth-oriented brands will be mounted, and grants and awards will be given to the winning groups. "It is different from the industry’s Ad Congresses because it’s driven by the concept of BY4Y – By the Youth, For the Youth," Villa stresses.

Initial reaction to the AdCong has been encouraging. The organizers are getting inquiries and reservations, not only from Metro Manila schools, but also from the provinces. The industry can rest easy knowing that the interest of future successors is pulsating. Youth is wasted on the young? Not when germane activities such as the 1st Student Ad Congress are persistent and alive.

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E-mail bongo@vasia.com or bongo@campaignsandgrey.net for comments, questions or suggestions. Thanks for communicating.